The Voice Nigeria: Giving Voice to the Talented

The Voice Nigeria: Giving Voice to the Talented

Vanessa Obioha reports that the music reality TV show The Voice Nigeria is gaining traction both on the traditional and digital media, thereby putting the vocal talents in the global spotlight

Since it premiered its third season in March, The Voice Nigeria has gained traction both in digital and traditional media. The combined views of its blind auditions episodes on YouTube have garnered over three million views. This is not in addition to the talents and coaches’ interview clips. On average, the reality TV show records 500,000 views on YouTube, according to its PR company, Seid.

Having the episodes on a digital platform like YouTube helps put the participating talents in the global spotlight. Usually, the episodes get aired on selected TV channels first. In this case, Africa Magic Channels on DStv, Views TV, and Wazobia TV are the dedicated TV channels that air the singing competition. The episodes are then uploaded on YouTube for fans to either catch up or relive moments. YouTube is one of the production partners of the show produced by UN1TY Ltd and Livespot360.

Recently, performances from this season’s episodes were added to the global franchise ‘Best of the Voice’ playlist on YouTube. The playlist highlights the best weekly performances of The Voice from different parts of the world. They included Peace Amaefula, Okemdiya Chimomez, Esther Benyeogo, and Ayomikun Ojoade from the first, second, third, and fourth episodes.

The growing popularity of the show can be attributed to its unique format. Unlike other music reality TV shows, the Voice distinguished itself with its nomenclature, audition, and elimination processes. For instance, it is almost taboo to call the vocal participants on the show ‘contestants’. They are known as talents, while the team of music professionals that vet their performances are known as coaches.

One of the unique features of the show is the audition process. The Voice employs a format whereby the talents perform blindly to the coaches and only get a ‘yes,’ if any of the coaches (usually four) press the red button that automatically turns their chairs to see the participant. Once a talent gets more than one chair turn, he or she will have to decide which of the coaches he/she wants. At this stage, the coaches will have to pitch fiercely to persuade the talent to be on their team.

For the third season of the Voice Nigeria, the coaches — Waje, Darey, Yemi Alade, and Falz— needed six talents on their team before moving to the Knockouts stage. The Knockouts stage officially kicked off on Saturday, May 8, and saw coaches pairing talents on stage. Those who failed to dazzle the coaches with their performances will be eliminated. The final round of elimination by coaches is the Battle Rounds.

Again, team members are paired, but unlike the Knockouts stage where they performed individually, they will be performing together in the battles.The final set of talents to survive this stage will now proceed to the live performance, where their fates are left in the hands of the voting public. The ultimate winner will be rewarded with an undisclosed cash prize, a brand-new car, and an international recording contract. Fans, too, stand a chance to win prizes. On-air-personality Toke Makinwa and TV host Nancy Isime serve as the hosts of the season sponsored by First Bank Nigeria, Baba Ijebu, Airtel Nigeria, and Minimie.

Many Nigerian youths are musically inclined, but there are few platforms available to showcase their talents. With Voice Nigeria, the talents stand a chance to be discovered, groomed, and showcased globally. Before the premiere of the third season, there were very few singing competitions showing on TV. In fact, the pandemic starved fans of music reality TV shows last year due to restrictions on social gatherings. That restriction delayed the premiere of the season, which was slated for 2020.

However, with its return, fans eagerly look forward to new episodes every Saturday and Sunday night as each episode is loaded with emotional tales and performances from the talents and the dramatic pitching competition among coaches. Indeed, TV viewing on weekends has never been so musically entertaining that it makes one say, “Thank God, it’s the weekend!”

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